August 13, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, August 13.
School bells are ringing this morning all over Center, Texas as a new year of classes begin. And all those kids who got to sleep late during the summer had to get up early today. When I was a kid, I was not a morning person. I was a night owl. Even after my parents thought I was asleep, I was often reading under my covers by flashlight. And when it came time to get ready for school, my mom had her work cut out for her. She had to tell me more than once to "get up!" And on the really bad days, she would bring a bowl of ice water into my bedroom and "sprinkle" me. And we weren't even Methodists!
The Bible tells us about another young boy who had a sleeping problem. His name was Eutychus.
The Apostle Paul found himself in a town called Troas on one Sunday morning and was invited to preach to the church there. Troas, 1500 years before Paul, was the legendary Troy, the sight of the Trojan War, brought to life in Homer's epic poem "The Illiad". On this particular Sunday, Paul, knowing that he would only be in Troas for one day, decided to make the most of his opportunity, and at midnight he was still preaching.
The young Eutychus, probably a teenager, was perched in a third story window, listening to the visiting speaker. After a while, he fell asleep in church (ever happened to you?), and fell out of that window, and down three stories . . . to his death. Paul ran to the young man, took him in his arms, and brought him back to life. Some theologians have cast doubt on whether Eutychus was really dead - just as some scholars doubt that Jesus was actually dead when He was laid in the tomb. But Paul's companion that day, and the writer of the Book of Acts where we read this story, was Luke - Dr. Luke. And being a physician, Luke was certainly qualified to tell the difference between an unconscious boy and a dead one.
And so, the boy lived. And there was great rejoicing in the church. And what did Paul do after performing this miracle? He went right on preaching, all the way to daybreak! So, the next time your preacher goes on a bit too long with his sermon, take heart, things could be worse. You could be Eutychus.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
